Update: What Gangster Octopus said in the story posted right after this diary first went up. This pushing on the crazy side of the Republican brand will save Democratic seats in the House.
In Jed Lewison's piece on the front page this morning. He cleverly employed the First Lady's speech on childhood obesity to lampoon the idiot Right's ridiculous kerfuffle of trumped up outrage over the speech. The contrast Jed noted was quite stark: between a message of family, kid, betterment, progress, community, fortitude and hard work against the witless reaction of fear, distrust and thoughtless opposition. The Republicans have worked hard for many years to effectively brand themselves as the party of terror and intolerance and obstruction. How are they doing? I think they've succeeded.
Irreversibly. Increasingly, unwinningly. So I chuckle to myself (only the slightest whiff of graveyard whistling, here) at all the stories that it's an anti-incumbent year, i.e. bad for the majority party or all the doom and gloom about voter intensity. I laugh because I believe in the Republican brand and I believe it will sink them.
Don't get me wrong. I agree with Speaker Pelosi that it's OK to be the underdog in this situation.
I also agree with her bigger point that the major thrust of this election is between forward or back. It's good to ask the American people as a whole whether they would like to have government run by the previous bunch of clowns or would rather let the current bunch try a little longer. But the Republicans have given us their brand to work with, too, and their brand makes them weak.
In recent months I've argued in various contexts of doom and gloom here on DK that we needn't despair. Trust the Republicans to screw up their chances of making just normal "off-year" gains against a 1st term administration. Their unprecedented surrender, even in general election contests, to the most extreme elements among them is unprecedented in the 19 election cycles I have followed closely. Parties and candidates ordinarily tack toward the center to greater or lesser degrees after dispensing with their primaries. But something happened to the Republicans when their AstroTurfers ginned up the Tea Party people and the monster awoke, becoming the Republican Party's very own Frankenstein. To make matters worse for them, Faux news and crazy talk radio became the Bride of Frankenstein, so that whenever their candidates make statements that sound sane, they are immediately attacked from the Right and hastily retract their words.
Many Tea Party nominees now publicly speak out for the crazy in the Republican Party. Other Republican candidates still face challenges from the Right. Those Republicans who care to challenge wing nut orthodoxy are forced to recant or retire altogether. The Party's real leaders exist only on the radio or on television. True Republicans are truly disconnected from the real world.
Republicans and their brand can be trusted. They can be trusted to support doing nothing about very serious problems facing the country while they always oppose anyone wanting to address and try to solve problems for the American people.
The Republicans have nothing to offer voters in the way of any kind of program or progress because they are against everything unless someone they like gets a defense contract; then the sky's the limit.
How that fear and terror thingy goin' for ya? The threat of terror has been reduced in the national consciousness and is nearly a joke to (perhaps too) many. The threat of a mass casualty attack certainly exists and imposes a series of financial, social and consumer exactions from most Americans that they once upon a time did not endure. This led to a certain national uneasines that the Republicans have never hesitated to exploit over the years.
Unfortunately for the Republicans, too many of those upon whom they have most successfully imposed their campaign of fear are a more aged segment of the public. They die off at a steady and accellerating rate and younger folk are not flocking to the standards but tend to vote for Democrats instead.
Charlie Crist of Florida was smart enough to recognize this and has abandoned the Republican brand and eased himself through the keyhole of Indpendent on his way to voting with the Democrats in the next Senate at least as reliably as Joe Lieberman. Does anybody remember Lieberman being part of the problem on these exasperating cloture goat fucks in the Senate that we've been enduring? It'd be OK to have another cloture vote as reliable as Lieberman (I apologize to everyone offended by it for saying anything even slightly positive about Lieberman; it was entirely accidental).
Republican Congressional candidates generally have no curb appeal to most American voters, despite the passion they arouse in their aging, shrinking cadre of faithful and enthusiastic voters. The most enthusiastic voter only votes once.
I agree with the Speaker that our candidates need to fight against a return to Republican control of Congress. But a record of modest progress on meaningful issues exists for the Democrats, fought against tooth and nail by Republicans. Important initiatives lie ahead along with ordinary government business like filling pending appointments to judgeships. Democrats in Congressional campaigns need to be proud of the work, accomplished and champions for the work remaining to be done. Conveninently that also allows Democratic candidates to starkly contrast themselves with the conformist mold of the Republican opponent. If our guys run on the record and plans, Democrats will be fine in Congress after this election, as long as they define their opponent accurately.